Birthday Visit
by olivia.23
Summary: River and The Doctor visit for Amys Birthday.


**So hi! Wow two uploads in one week! This is definitely a record for me!**

**So this is just a little something I did basically just because I really love the Pond family.**

**So hope you enjoy!**

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><p>'Mother!' River shouted as she opened the blue door. 'Mother, we're here.'<p>

'Yes, and only 13 minutes late may I add.' The Doctor added, sounding genuinely impressed.

'That would be a new record for you then, I suppose?' A voice said, and Rory William entered the room, greeting his daughter with a hug.

'Yes, well I suppose so...oh look at that a blue blender!' The Doctor said as walked away to examine it.

'River!' A voice at the top of the stairs shrieked. Amy Pond practically jumped down the stairs and engulfed her daughter in a hug. 'You remembered!'

'Of course I remembered, Mother! It's your birthday!' River said as Amy released her.

'You know I wouldn't really blame you if you forgot, River' Rory said as he took Rivers coat from her and put it in the closet. 'Running around in the TARDIS, it can be really hard to remember things like that.'

'Oh, shut up you.' Amy said, hitting her husband softly on the arm. 'Just because YOU forgot my 21st birthday-'

'I didn't forget it, I was very distracted that day!' Rory interrupted. 'It was the day that moose was running around the TARDIS, which was really the Doctors fault and-'

'Not blaming me again I hope Rory!' The Doctor said as he re-entered the room.

'Doctor!' Amy cried as she captured her best-friend/son-in-law in a hug.

'Happy Birthday Pond!' The Doctor said, releasing her from the hug after a few seconds (and a serious look from Rory).

'What is it this time? Let me guess' The Doctor said and he inspected Amy's face closely, pulling her cheeks out as he did. 'I would say you are... 45 today.'

'Oi! Shut-up I am not!' Amy said, punching him on the arm as he laughed to himself. 'I am 25 years old today, thank you very much!'

'26...' River said, thinking for a moment. 'That would make this 2014 then!'

'What, you didn't check the year before you came?' Rory asked as he led them into the living room and the four of them sat down.

'No well, we ..uh...' The Doctor said as he and River exchanged guilty looks. ' We got a bit distracted.'

'Right then!' Rory jumped of the sofa, not at all interested in hearing exactly what had distracted his daughter and her husband from checking the year they had landed in. 'Who wants tea?'

'Oh me please!' The Doctor exclaimed, recovering from his embarrassing moment immediately. 'But first Amelia, I want to give you your present!'

The Doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out (after several moments of searching) what look like a jelly-bean.

'It's a Tocali tree seed. And when it's in season, it'll produce hundreds of different fruits , only twelve of which are poisonous! Come on Rory , let's go and plant it for Amy. The fruits it produces come from all over the universe and one man said that he found a banana-watermelon hybrid...' The Doctor rambled as he led a somewhat reluctant Rory into the backyard.

Amy and River watched their husbands walk out to the backyard, before turning to each other.

'So!' Amy said, grinning at her daughter. 'How is everything going?'

'Oh well, you know. The usual. Prisoner by day, time-traveller by night.' River said. 'It's very tiring actually. I don't know how I stay awake sometimes.'

'Well, your father and I have missed you. You haven't come round for a few months. How hard is it to put ten minutes aside once a week in a time machine?' Amy said, attempting to give her daughter a stern look.

'Well, we would, but as Dad said, it can be really easy to forget things in the TARDIS.' River giving her mother a guilty look. 'I will come as often as I can.' She added, which seemed to satisfy Amy.

'Good girl.' Amy said, winking at her daughter. 'Do you want to help me with dinner?'

'Of course. Is anyone else coming over?' River asked as she followed her mother into the kitchen.

'Not tonight, no.' Amy told her as she began cutting up vegetables.

'What about your parents?'

'Mum and Dad came around last night.'

'Why didn't they come round tonight?' River asked, trying to sound innocently curious.

'You know perfectly well why, Melody.' She said, sounding as though she would very much like the conversation to end.

The two stood in silence for several moments, Amy cutting up vegetables whilst River put plates onto the dining table. After a moment, River spoke.

'You know you're going to have to tell them eventually.'

Amy stopped cutting up the vegetables, put the knife down and walked over to the fridge to begin searching for something.

'Oh please Mother, don't ignore me!' River cried. 'You can't keep them in the dark forever. Their parents!'

Amy turned from the fridge very suddenly to look straight at River.

' Seriously, River? Says you?' Amy said, her voice rising. 'You knew we were your parents long before we did. You could have prevented so much from happening if you had just told us who you were! So don't you dare talk to me about keeping people in the dark, Melody Pond.'

She turned away from her daughter, shaking with anger. It wasn't the first time the two of them had ever really discussed what had happened. But it was the first time Amy she had ever confronted River like this. She began chopping her vegetables again, unnecessarily violently. Another silence filled the room, broken after several minutes by a small sob.

Amy turned around to see her daughter sitting on the sofa, staring out the window, silent tears tracing their way down her cheek. Amy was immediately filled a feeling of immense guilt.

'I'm sorry.' She said as she made her way over to comfort her daughter. 'It's just...it's so hard sometimes. I know that you're my daughter, and I - we, love you so, so much. But sometimes, when I think about what that woman did to our family, what she did to you! I get so angry and I need someone to blame. I know it's not your fault. I don't blame you.'

The two sat in yet another silence as Amy held her daughter, rubbing her back.

'I'm sorry.' River croaked, finally. 'Sometimes I wish I could change it, but I just can't.'

Her voice became stronger as she looked up at her Mother.

'It would mean changing everything that have ever occurred in my life, and while some pretty horrible things have happened, I would never, ever dare to rewrite it. In my eyes the pros outweigh the cons, always. I need you to understand that.'

Amy considered her daughter for a moment. She was so kind, so strong, so brave. Despite everything she had gone through, River had survived. Her precious Melody. Her daughter.

Amy pulled River into a hug. It was a moment unlike any other they had shared. In that moment, they were simply a mother and her child coming to grips with the harsh reality the universe had decided for them.

'I know, River. And I would never ask you to.' She told her daughter genuinely. 'I'm so sorry, I just wish I could have protected you'

'It's okay to be angry. But don't you dare ever blame yourself.' She told her mother. 'I know that you did everything in your power to keep me safe.'

Amy nodded and River pulled her into another hug. For a long while they sat and held each other until the oven beeped, signifying the return to the real world.

The two returned to the kitchen and continued to prepare for dinner. Several minutes later, their husbands returned covered in dirt and looking particularly dishevelled.

'I'm sorry Rory, obviously I didn't expect that to happen.' The Doctor said, as he straightened his bowtie.

'Expect what to happen, sweetie?' River asked her husband.

'Well, we had to dig a hole to plant the Tocali and-'

'And he thought it would be a brilliant idea to try out the Sonic Screwdrivers new digging function.' Rory interrupted. 'We now have a 4 meter deep hole in our backyard.'

River and Amy looked at each other, before bursting out into a fit of laughter.

Rory and The Doctor exchanged a look of extreme confusion.

'It's not funny you know.' Rory told his wife and daughter. 'It's going to take me ages to fix up.'

But apparently River and Amy found this even more amusing, as both of them positively howled with laughter.

'What is so funny!' The Doctor demanded. He did not like being out of the joke.

'Nothing, nothing.' Amy managed to get out as their laughter died down slightly. 'You're both just so stupid!'

Rory sighed.

'C'mon Doctor, their having a mother-daughter moment.' He told the Doctor. 'Let's go and get cleaned up. You can borrow one of my shirts.'

'Haven't got any bowties, do you Rory?' The Doctor asked as Rory led him out of the room, which caused another uproar from his wife and mother-in-law.

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><p><strong>Hope you enjoyed that. I don't have a beta reader, so the mistakes are all to blame on me.<strong>

**I am interested in getting a beta reader. I'm not entirely sure how the process works. (Do I apply for one? Some just choose one for me?) So if someone would care to explain that to me, it would be greatly appreciated.**

**So if you liked it, reviews would be appreciated. And if you didn't, you can also review and tell me how I can improve? All kinds of feedback is appreciated! Seriously, whenever I get a new review, my day is instantly better, so if you wanna make me happy, review!**

**Okay so enough begging for reviews. I'll catch you on the flip-side!**


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